Sir:
There are a couple of sources of Vitamin C that are not common knowledge.
If you are an oldtimer like me you may remember the name Euell Gibbons, the
spokesman for Grape Nuts cereal. His catchphrase was “Ever eat a pine tree?
Many parts are edible.” He wasn’t kidding. The inner bark of a pine tree is
a great source of Vitamin C, Thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin A and other
beneficial properties like Protein and fat, yes fat one of the things everyone
needs to survive.
How to get it? Take a branch the size of your little finger (this is about
one serving), strip (slicing motion) off the corky outer bark with a knife
until you get to the soft inner bark (which is sometimes green, sometimes
white.) It is the layer between the corky bark and the wood. This is
the layer that eventually becomes wood and carries the nutrients from the soil
to the needles. Strip that off with a knife, chew it until it becomes like bubble gum, then swallow. Does it taste great? Only if you enjoy drinking PineSol (not recommended). But the fact is that people can use this to make it through an emergency situation or to ensure you are getting enough vitamin C ify ou are in doubt about your diet. You can also make a tea out of the needles.Pour boiling water over two tablespoons of washed and crushed pine needles and let it steep for 20 minutes, and then drink it. Pine cone nuts are full of fat and can be eaten right out of the cone. All pine trees can be used this way, even the hemlock tree (but not the hemlock vine as that that is poisonous) which is related to the pine tree.
As an off-subject tip, if you have Dogwood trees in your area and suffer from migraines, you can use the inner bark (prepared the same way as a pine tree), and make a tea. Pour boiling water over the strips of inner bark, let its steep for 20 minutes, and drink. (And by the way it tastes much better than pine bark tea.) I have seen this work. After 15 minutes you start to feel the effect and within an hour the pain is either gone or reduced to a level that makes you able to operate again. But I digress, this letter is about Vitamin C. Moving on…
Another source of Vitamin C that is not as readily available as pine trees are the fruit and leaves of the Moringa Oleifera tree. This tree grows over 10feet per year. You can only grow it outside in southern Florida (and BTW if you live there I would leave), Southern California (ditto) and parts of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. You can grow it in a greenhouse or in your house for the winter and trim it back to grow it like a bush or grow it in the ground and protect it from frost in the winter. You can buy sproutable seeds online. This is a super food. Leaves are eaten right off the plant or dried and crushed to make a powder. I have a bag of this in my refugee bag (aka Bugout Bag or BOB). This plant also has protein, fat and carbs. The bark is edible like a pine tree, the roots too, but they have a horseradish taste and it is not recommended you eat that regularly. The Moringa tree is being used to combat malnutrition in Africa, as well as to supplementf eed their cows to increase production of milk. Women can use this as a supplement for breastfeeding.
According to one maker, here are some facts about this food:
- 3 times the Potassium in bananas
- 7 times the Vitamin-C as in oranges
- 25 times the Iron in spinach
- 4 times the Calcium in milk
- 4 times the Vitamin A in carrots
- 46 Antioxidants
- 36 Anti-Inflammatories
- Omegas 3, 6, and 9
- Vitamins
Vitamins A (Alpha and Beta-Carotene), B, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, C, D, E, K, Folic Acid, Biotin and more
- Minerals
Calcium, Chloride, Chromium, Copper, Fluorine, Iron, Manganese, Magnesium, Molybdenum, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Selenium, Sulfur, Zinc
- All 8 Essential Amino Acids
Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Valine
- 10 Additional Amino Acids: Alanine, Arganine, Aspartic Acid, Cystine, Glutamine, Glycine, Histidine, Proline, Serine, Tyrosine
- Other Beneficial Nutrients: Chlorophyll, Carotenoids, Cytokinins, Flavonoids, Omega (3, 6, 9) oils, Plant Sterols, Polyphenols, Lutein, Xanthins, Rutin, and more.
- Nourishes the bodies immune system
- Promotes healthy circulation
- Supports normal blood glucose
- Enzymatically alive
- Delivers Z-Atin
- Supported by Modern Scientific findings
- Natural Anti-Aging benefits(Zeatin, Quercetin, Omega 3 Fatty Acids & vitamins, can protect the bodies cells and prevent many of the common conditions associated with aging.)
- Anti-inflammatory support
- Boosts real kinesiological energy safely (via amino acids and B vitamins)
- Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS)
- Improves your metabolism
- Easily absorbable
Happy grazing. – R.T. in Georgia